In the era of parallel computing, whether on an eight-way multi-core system or an 800-node cluster, what you choose to place in your toolbox suddenly matters more and can have a dramatic impact on how productive you will be, and how efficient your code will be. Microsoft understands this and has put together a rich ecosystem of tools that address the needs of multi-core and cluster programmers. Take a quick tour of Microsoft Visual Studio and some of its partner tools.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Express is a free, integrated environment for accessing, configuring, managing, administering, and developing all components of SQL Server, as well as combining a broad group of graphical tools and rich script editors that provide access to SQL Server to developers and administrators of all skill levels.